While Fifty Shades of Grey’s kinky sex scenes are fiction, a new study found that those who read the series might be prone to certain health risks in real life. The research, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, is the first of its kind to look at associations between physical and psychological abuse and popular fiction that depicts violence against women. The study authors chose to use Fifty Shades as a cultural barometer because of its wild success and because, according to them, it is one of the most popular novels to “normalize and glamorize” intimate partner violence.
The survey included 715 women between the ages of 18 and 24 who were enrolled at a university in the Midwest. Of that group, 219 women had read one or more of the Fifty Shades books. In an online survey, researchers asked the women about intimate partner violence, binge drinking, sexual practices, and extreme dieting. The results showed that women who read at least the first novel in the Fifty Shades series (but not all three) were more likely than non-readers to have had a partner who shouted, yelled, or swore at them or sent unwanted calls or texts. Women who read all three novels were more likely than non-readers to report binge drinking in the last month, using extreme dieting measures, and having five or more sexual partners in their lifetime.
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The study authors concluded that while Fifty Shades doesn’t actually cause women to be in abusive relationships, binge drink, diet, or partake in risky sexual behaviors, there is some sort of interesting correlation here.
But while the study’s findings are interesting, there are a few glaring issues that should be addressed. First off, all of the research hinges on the fact that the relationship featured in Fifty Shades of Grey is defined as “problematic abuse,” using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of intimate partner violence. They include examples such as Christian using a phone to track Anastasia, isolating her from friends and family, and pressuring or intimidating her into sexual activities that she's not comfortable with at first. Whatever your stance on the relationship between Ana and Christian, kink enthusiasts maintain that there is nothing abusive about BDSM.
Plus, since they didn't find a cause-and-effect relationship, it's possible that women who binge drink, diet, or have had several sexual partners also happen to be women who were interested in reading the books. Since these books were insanely popular among a variety of women, it's highly likely that some of them would fall into those categories.
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The final problematic piece of this study is that the sample is too small and from too distinct a population to apply across society at large. A lot of young women might experiment with dieting, have several sexual partners, and enter into relationships that turn out to be unhealthy. And while Fifty Shades might not be the best model for a good relationship, that doesn’t mean it will cause women to make bad choices. There are definitely a lot more gray areas when it comes to sex and love and fact and fiction.
MORE: Is Casual Sex Always a Bad Idea?
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